Jobless benefit cuts are the cruelest of all

6:00 PM,
Dec. 31, 2013

On Saturday, benefits expired for 1.3 million Americans who have been unemployed more than six months.

Written by

EUGENE ROBINSON

To 1.3 million jobless Americans: The Republican Party wishes you a Very Unhappy New Year!

It would be one thing if there were a logical reason to cut off unemployment benefits for those who have been out of work the longest. But no such rationale exists. On both economic and moral grounds, extending benefits for the long-term unemployed should have been an automatic bipartisan vote in both houses of Congress.

It wasn't. Nothing is automatic and bipartisan anymore, not with today's radicalized GOP on the scene. In this case, a sensible and humane policy option is hostage to bruised Republican ...